Alexithymia: Subscales and Relationship to Depression

Haviland, Mark G.; Shaw, Dale G.; Cummings, Michael; MacMurray, James P.

doi:10.1159/000288115

Cited by 98 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…This finding is consistent with a study of patients with alcohol dependence who showed a significant decrease in depression scores after successful treatment, whereas there was no concomitant decrease in their alexithymia scores (Haviland et al, 1988). Similar results were obtained by Porcelli et al (1996) in a longitudinal study of a group of 104 medical outpatients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Alexithymia — State or Trait?

2003

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Alexithymia refers to a specific disturbance in emotional processing that is manifested by difficulties in identifying and verbalizing feelings and a tendency to focus on and amplify the somatic sensations that accompany emotional arousal. Alexithymia is conceptualized both as an affect-deficit disorder and a continuous personality variable. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the stability levels of alexithymia with regard to changes in emotional distress levels caused by university exams. We tested 20 university students at four different times, before and after the exams. Alexithymic features and self-reported emotional distress (trait anxiety and physical symptoms) were measured. Whereas emotional distress measures changed significantly during the diverse phases, the level of alexithymia remained unchanged. We therefore conclude that alexithymia represents a constant trait. Keywords: emotion, alexithymia, stress, anxiety La alexitimia describe un trastorno en el procesamiento emocional, manifestado mediante una marcada dificultad para identificar y expresar afectos, así como una tendencia a amplificar las sensaciones somáticas ligadas a la activación emocional. La alexitimia es conceptualizada tanto como un trastorno en la regulación afectiva, como una variable de personalidad. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es investigar la estabilidad temporal de los niveles de alexitimia en relación a los cambios experimentados en el malestar emocional causado por los exámenes universitarios. Evaluamos 20 universitarios en cuatro ocasiones diferentes, antes y después de los exámenes. Se evaluaron los niveles de alexitimia y de malestar emocional (ansiedad y sintomatología somática). Los resultados mostraron que mientras que las medidas de malestar emocional cambiaron significativamente durante las diversas fases, el grado de alexitimia permaneció inalterable. Se concluye afirmando que la alexitimia constituye un rasgo estable de personalidad.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Alexithymia — State or Trait?

2003

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“…Uncertainty remains, however, as to whether alexithymia is a predisposing or vulnerability factor that influences the onset or course of these disorders or merely a state reaction to the presence of a disorder or any accompanying distress [3, 4, 5]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of the Absolute and Relative Stability of Alexithymia in Patients with Major Depression

Luminet

Bagby

Taylor

2001

Psychother Psychosom

247

174

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Background: Previous studies demonstrating an association between alexithymia and depression have led to the proposal that alexithymia may be a state-dependent phenomenon rather than a stable and enduring personality trait. Several longitudinal studies have provided support for a trait view of alexithymia, but most of these studies evaluated absolute stability only (i.e., the extent to which alexithymia scores change over time) and did not examine the relative stability of alexithymia (i.e., the extent to which relative differences among individuals remain the same over time) in the context of changes in illness symptomatology. The present study evaluated both absolute stability and relative stability of alexithymia in depressed patients who experienced a marked reduction in the severity of depressive symptoms. Methods: Forty-six psychiatric outpatients with major depression were assessed for alexithymia and depression with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression at the start of treatment (baseline) and after 14 weeks of treatment (follow-up) with antidepressant medication. Paired t tests and correlational analyses were performed to evaluate absolute stability and relative stability in alexithymia. Hierarchical regression analyses were then used to assess the degree to which the relative stability in alexithymia scores was related to the severity of depressive symptoms, and the degree to which changes in alexithymia scores could be attributed to changes in depression scores. Results: Alexithymia scores changed significantly from baseline to follow-up, indicating a general lack of absolute stability. There was, however, strong evidence of relative stability, as alexithymia scores at baseline correlated significantly with alexithymia scores at follow-up and were also a significant predictor of follow-up alexithymia scores, after partialling the effects of depression severity. Conclusions: Although alexithymia scores may change in the presence of large changes in the severity of depressive symptoms, the finding of relative stability of alexithymia supports the view that this construct is a stable personality trait rather a state-dependent phenomenon.

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“…Also the results of several studies have confirmed the positive relationship between alexithymia and severity of alcohol use disorder (Cecero and Holmstrom, 1997;Haviland et al, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Study of Vulnerability to Addiction With Regard to Self-Efficacy and Alexithymia in High School Students

Ghadiri

Abdolmohamadi

Kheiradin

et al. 2016

PCP

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Objective: We aimed to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and alexithymia with vulnerability to drug abuse among students. Methods:The study method was descriptive and correlational. In this study, 483 male highschool students from Salmas City, Iran were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. All participants completed the Toronto alexithymia scale, general self-efficacy scale, a questionnaire to identify people at risk of addiction. The obtained data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation and simultaneous regression analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.Results: Based on the study findings, self-efficacy has the greatest ability to predict vulnerability to addiction. Next comes alexithymia which positively predicts vulnerability to addiction. Conclusion:The present study showed that low self-efficacy and failure to understand and express emotions can play important roles in the tendency of young people to drug addiction. Accordingly, clinicians can prevent the tendency of young people to addiction with improving the self-efficacy and enhancing the ability of individuals to control the emotions.

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Alexithymia: Subscales and Relationship to Depression

Cited by 98 publications

References 21 publications

Alexithymia — State or Trait?

Alexithymia — State or Trait?

An Evaluation of the Absolute and Relative Stability of Alexithymia in Patients with Major Depression

Study of Vulnerability to Addiction With Regard to Self-Efficacy and Alexithymia in High School Students

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